Washed-out asphalt, layers of mud and silt, piles of debris — Calgary’s beloved pathway system is suffering from the flood of 2013 as much as the rest of the city.

As flood waters recede, the true picture of damage to the pathways is revealed. I was out on a bike today, checking out how well the pathway system fared. While parts of the network look to have held up well against the onslaught of water from the Bow and Elbow rivers, others have been destroyed. The damage raises troubling questions about the future of a network is beloved by walkers and heavily used by bicycle commuters.

The damage is difficult to take and hard to fathom. While bicycles have taken over the past few days as the primary means of transportation in flood-damaged areas, because of restrictions on the movement of cars and trucks, the damage is sure to make life tough for many Calgary cyclists in the long run.

In the short term, many parts of the river pathway system remain dangerous. Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, warned people Monday to stay away because river flows remain high.

“All parks and pathways next to the Bow and Elbow Rivers remain closed,” Burrell said Monday. Paths near Nose Creek area also closed. “”Parks is mobilizing teams this morning to assess and clean up parks and pathways next to the river. We’ll be reopening parks and pathways as soon as they’re assessed as safe. People should not access parks and pathways until it is deemed safe to do so.”

Later in the day, the City of Calgary warned cyclists to stay off marked areas.

Despite the warnings, on Monday many people were using the pathways in areas that had survived the flooding.

Here’s a bit of what I saw today.

At Sandy Beach, a valley between Altadore and Britannia, much of the pathway remains underwater. The stakes in this photo show how far the water has receded, but much of the pathway is still buried.

<em>These stakes mark the receding of the waters of the Elbow, but there is still far to go. Photos, Tom Babin.</em>

What’s worse, the lovely old suspension pedestrian bridge at Sandy Beach has been destroyed, along with several other similar foot bridges, beloved for their wobbliness, downstream.

<em>The suspension foot bridge at Sandy Beach was destroyed by the rising Elbow.</em>

The most popular paths, those along the Bow River near downtown, fared better, though they remain closed. The recently completed Poppy Plaza at Memorial Drive and 10th Street S.W. was flooded, but it looks as if the pathways may survive, even though they are still under water.

<em>Beneath that water is a pathway, I swear.</em>

At Eau Claire, areas that were underwater only hours before were clear and clean, and host to dozens of joggers and cyclists. There were some areas in which mud was piled high, but work crews seemed to be making short work of them.

Much of the pathway on both sides of the Bow downtown looked intact behind yellow police tape. Areas that had been rebuilt after damage from the 2005 flood looked to have survived being washed away again. Nearly every pathway underpass around the core, however, was still underwater, many submerged by dangerously fast waters.

<em>The underpass beneath the Centre Street Bridge is still under a torrent of water.</em>

Outside of the core, damage was extensive. In Erlton, where the streets are filled with mud and bustling with exhausted-looking homeowners in rubber boots reclaiming their property, the pathways into, and around, Lindsay Park remain strewn with silt and debris. Parts of the pathway near Stampede Park have been washed away.

<em>A closed bridge into the path-heavy Lindsey Park, which is strewn with debris.</em>

The heavily used pathways along Elbow Drive and through Stanley Park were accessible on Monday, and despite Burrell’s warnings were filled with people. They were also filled with mud and debris in some places, but they look well on their way to recovery.

<em>The pathway along Elbow Drive near 4th Street S.W. was heavily hit, but was already being used by many people on Monday.</em>

Perhaps the area of pathway system hardest hit is Inglewood. Pathways to and from Fort Calgary are covered with water and silt.

Worse, the pathway south from Pearce Estate Park, a major bike commuter route for those heading downtown from the city’s southern suburbs, was not only filled with water in some places, but decimated in others. Major sections have dropped into the Bow.

<em>Pearce Estate Park was a swamp on Monday.</em>

<em>Along the Bow River near Inglewood, sections of the pathway have fallen into the river, or are dangerously close to doing so. This is the east bank of the river below the Cushing Bridge.</em>

Despite all the destruction, it was heartening to see so many cyclists out on Monday. Groups of cyclists slowly made their way around the pathway network, stopping to gauge their damage. On Twitter, cyclists shared information about accessible routes to work. While pathways are often seen as little more than a nice recreational amenity in the city, they do elicit strong emotions from Calgarians who see them as a their own. As more commuters take to bicycles, they are also an increasingly crucial part of the city’s transportation network.

How will this change cycling in the city? In the long term, it’s tough to say. The gaps blown into the system by the flood will no doubt post serious challenges for commuters and recreationalists. Fixing them will be long and expensive, especially with so much other work that will most likely take priority.

In the short term, if today’s ride was any indication, perhaps it’s best stick to the roads. People seem to have a new appreciation for bikes these days, even when they are in a car, and the lighter traffic, especially downtown, made for some rather unique cycling on empty urban streets. Perhaps that can be our silver lining, no matter how tarnished.

Some Calgary cyclists have started building a map to earn each other about inaccessible routes. I plan to add to it, and you can too. You can see it below, and click here to make your own contributions.

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